Wow, I'm amazed that Gary Wiles and I didn't run into all the other groups
on the eastside this weekend! Glad to see that people are getting out
birding. Gary and I left on Saturday about 4:00 PM and made our way over to
Wenas via I-90 and Umptanum. We arrived at the Wenas campground just before
dark as there were too many temptations along Umptanum to get to camp any
sooner. Birds seen along the way over on 06/21 included:

STAMPEDE PASS EXIT-
Vaux's Swift (No Blacks, we were hoping that this spot may have a few)
1 Warbling Vireo
4 Townsend's Warbler

UMPTANUM RD (pretty birdy)-
Western W/Pewee (common)
1 Say's Phoebe
2 Warbling Vireo
15 B/B Magpie (all in one group, seemed to be birds bathing/drinking at
puddles at dusk)
6 Bank Swallow (at nests)
House Wren (common)
11 Western Bluebird (6 fledged spotty birds in a bush, very neat)
3 Mountain Bluebird
Chipping Sparrow (common)
Vesper Sparrow
1 Brewer's Sparrow
D/E Junco
7 B/H Grosbeak
6 Bullock's Oriole

Winds were very high at dusk through the night, owling was a bust but we did
hear 3 COMMON POORWILL in the camp as the sun went down. Also heard 3 VEERY
and saw 4 COM. NIGHTHAWKS before calling it a day.

I woke up at 4:50 on the 22nd with a kink in my neck (my own fault for
sleeping in the car) and a DUSKY FLYCATCHER within earshot. Note-got into
the 40s at night, so please dress appropriately...also if you bring a camp
stove DO NOT FORGET: matches, spoon, mug, hot chocolate mix, kettle...o.k.
so I'm not the best at packing! The campground yielded:

Calliope Hummingbird (Gary had these while tracking down a Dusky Fly)
1 Hairy Woodpecker
2 Red-Naped Sapsucker (possibly more but they moved around quite a bit)
1 Pac-slope Flycatcher
4 Dusky Flycatcher
1 Gray Flycatcher
1 N. R/W Swallow
Mountain Chickadee family
all three nuthatches within earshot, and all were feeding fledged young
2 Veery
5 MacGillivray's Warbler
4 Yellow-rumped "Audubon's" Warbler
3 Western Tanager
3 Bullock's Oriole
Cassin's Finch
Pine Siskin

On the way out along Audubon RD we had the usual VESPER SPARROWS, BREWER'S
SPARROWS, EASTERN KINGBIRDS and W. MEADOWLARKS.

Maloy RD bridge had one GRAY CATBIRD and a couple of obliging MacGill
Warblers. Hardy Canyon was pretty quiet, no CHATS at all. The BLUE-GRAY
GNATCATCHER was easily heard as we made our way towards the Ponderosa. Gary
walked in a bit to get a "state" look while I stayed on the rattlesnake free
dirt road (last year found me with a young snake nearly under foot at the
Ponderosa). We had a good time watching a LAZULI BUNTING belt out his song.
VESPER SPARROWS were common and easily seen along the road to the
Ponderosa. One of the most interesting sights were the 8 flushed baby
California Quail, they were maybe a couple of inches long but were capable
of a short flight!

Made a quick stop at the bridge at the split for Hwy 12 and 410 for the
WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS.

Then we made our way up to the famed Nile Burn. Nile Creek RD was
absolutely full of birds, it was hard to even make it the 8 miles because we
kept stopping. Good birds included:
1 American Kestrel male (surprised us at this elevation and habitat)
2 Callipe Hummingbird
1 Williamson's Sapsucker female (possibly up to four W. Sapsuckers, we
missed a confirmation on the other 3)
Hammond's Flycatcher (at every stop)
Townsend's Warbler (common)
MacGillivray's Warbler
Red Crossbill
Evening Grosbeak

The Nile burn was interesting. We were both expecting something different,
but were happy to be able to get out and hike around. We would recommend
having lots of time to explore the entire burn on foot, it is not that large
but contains many good birds. We ran into a birder as we made our way up
who said he had 4 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS, we only found 2 adult
BLACK-BACKEDS and two chicks. One bird had left the nest early and was on
the ground, this bird had damage on the right eye. The parents were feeding
it on the ground, so please be very careful when approaching the
BLACK-BACKEDS...and keep your distance so as to reduce further disturbance.
I would recommend carrying in a scope, this way you can allow all the
woodpeckers (and there were others) to continue bringing food to the
nestlings. PLUS YOU GET MUCH BETTER LOOKS! A note about the yound
Black-backed, this bird's plumage was identical to the adult and had a
smaller patch of yellow on the crown (ala male B/Backeds)...neat.

Other good birds:
2 Williamson's Sapsucker (these birds were very busy flying around, hard to
get good looks at but obviously foraging for food for young)
1 Hairy Woodpecker
3 White-headed Woodpecker (2 males, 1 female. One pair was visting nest
hole often)
4 Black-backed Woodpecker
2 N. Flicker
2 Hammond's Flycatcher
2 Mountain Chickadee w/nest
2 W/B Nuthatch
Western Bluebird (common)
1 Townsend's Solitaire
Y/R "Audubon's" Warbler
Cassin's Finch, Red Crossbill, and Evening Grosbeaks all coming to a large
ash pile near the center of the burn.

A note on where to watch the woodpeckers- If you walk the main "road" into
the burn you will eventually come to a tree blocking the path and a large
ash pile beyond this. If you stand to the left of the ash pile with your
back to the FR1600 road look at about 10 to 11 o'clock. You should see a
shorter snag with a couple of hole near the top. This is the nest of the
White-headeds, if you stay out of sight behind a tree at a distance they
will come and go every minute or so. They were vocal, but this was after we
had walked around for quite a while...so be patient and spend some time
wandering the burn. The Black-backeds were off to the left side of the burn
(as looking out from FR 1600). Please be careful here, we blundered upon
the nest and quickly retreated after realizing we were so close (you could
hear at least one chick still inside). Upon reflection, if you walk towards
the ridge straight ahead and then listen you should eventually pick up their
calls (they were eventually very vocal also). Listen to the Stokes CD, they
made both the 'pik' notes (especially the chick) and the cool raspy churr
series (even the chick produced this sound). The Wiliamson's Sapsuckers
were harder to locate, we saw one female on a trunk before she flew and I
got a decent look at a distant male before he also flew. We never found
their nest, so be prepared to get on a flying bird quickly.

Overall a great place to bird for us Westsiders. Easy drive and terrific
birds. The scenery on 410 coming back was also outstanding, lots of snow
yet at the pass and VARIED THRUSHES calling from below.

Good birding,
Jason Paulios
Jpaulios at hotmail.com
Olympia, WA

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